As Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipyard continues to grow and expand, the infrastructure supporting this world-class shipbuilding company must be upgraded. Currently, the shipyard is constructing the Joint Manufacturing and Assembly Facility (JMAF). This large facility required a new water supply and enhanced fire protection, and in order to accomplish this a new pipeline and meter needed to be designed and constructed.
The area adjacent to the new facility is residential and the existing 2” pipeline would not be sufficient to support the increased capacity. To solve this problem, Newport News Waterworks staff partnered with Huntington Ingalls’ staff to design a replacement of the existing 2” pipeline along 67th Street with a 16” pipeline that would be fed from a 30” line on Warwick Boulevard. The Newport News Public Works Department coordinated with Waterworks to provide additional curb, gutter, and pavement replacement to encompass the entire street over and above the project requirements. Waterworks maintains a Distribution System Improvement Fund for replacing pipelines, with a priority of replacing 2” pipes like this one.
Thanks to collaboration between city, Shipyard, and Waterworks staff, the need for increased water supply and fire protection for this growing business was met and 67th Street received an upgrade. This effort was a win-win for the Shipyard, the residential neighborhood, and the Waterworks Distribution System.